Sky Field
by wintersoda97
Summary: There's a rumor of a siren at Duel Academia, and Judai is going solve it. This rumor, however, might be a little more troublesome than the ones before it.
1. Chapter 1

It's been awhile since I've watched GX and written any fanfiction, so things may be a little off. This takes place during season 4. Reviews and suggestions are definitely welcome!

* * *

"Have you guys noticed that there are less and less people coming to class?" Asuka asked.

"Who wouldn't? Professer Chronos looked like he was going to cry while taking attendance." Manjoume said. There were rows of empty seats in the lecture hall. Class has ended for the day, and the few students that where there had finally left. Asuka, Manjoume, and Shou were the only students still left in their seats.

"Now that you mention it, I think Kenzan-kun said something about his yellow friends ditching to find someone." Shou said while cocking his head to the side.

"Well, there _is_ a rumor going around." The mysterious voice came from the classroom door, and the three looked towards it.

"Uwah! Fubuki-san, when did you get there?"

"Master! You're saying that you know something about this?"

"Kinda." Fubuki walked down the stairs to the group and sat down behind them. "To answer your question, Shou, I originally wanted to come here to see my adorable little sister, but the same thing is happening in other classes too. And I think it might be related to the rumor."

"Is it the one about the siren?" Asuka asked.

"Oh, so you've heard about it too!"

"It's only just spread to the girls dorm, but yes, I have. 'If you walk around the island, you can hear someone singing—.'"

"Wait, what does this have to do with the students ditching?" Shou asked.

"Apparently, you're more likely to hear her during class hours." Fubuki stood up from the seat he was in, "So are we going to do this?"

"Huh?"

"Aren't we gonna bring the whole group together, and look for her too? I'm pretty curious." Fubuki looked towards Manjoume and continued, "I'll even give you wooing advice if you come~!" Manjoume's eyes brighten at the personal perk while Shou and Asuka gave out sighs.

"We still have class remember. The three of us are working to become pro-duelists. And Asuka is trying to become a teacher; she shouldn't set bad example for her future students." Shou said.

Although the rumor piqued his interest, Shou also knew that the students that are ditching still come back to their dorms before dark. Either the students couldn't find her, or the singer isn't an actual siren that hurts people. At the very least, no one was getting seriously injured beyond what the island's natural terrain could do.

 _"The rumor wouldn't last for long. The siren is probably not a duel monster; it's most likely another student."_ Shou thought. _  
_

He continued, "Besides, I think Professor Chronos would actually cry if we were to leave too."

"So? We'll just tell him beforehand. We're not as secretive as that g—" Manjoume paused, realizing what he was about to say, but the others knew. They _knew_ who he was referring to.

Their expressions darkened.

The atmosphere became tense.

"I'll ask Rei to join us tomorrow." Breaking the silence, Asuka continued, "Since she's now in the girl's Blue Dorms, I'll be seeing her first."

"And I'll talk to Kenzan-kun. I can still visit the Yellow dorm. Professer Kabayama does get lonely from time to time," Shou added.

"Okay. Then, we'll meet up at the school's entrance tomorrow. See ya guys then!"

Asuka and Shou excused themselves and left. Fubuki, still standing, stayed behind with Manjoume. There was an awkward silence between the two until Fubuki asked how Manjoume was feeling. He only replied with a small huff.

"Chances are we're gonna split up into pairs. If you wanna talk or listen to some advice then, then I'll see you tomorrow, m'kay" Fubuki said before he too left the room, leaving Manjoume alone with his thoughts.

Manjoume isn't sure who he's madder at. Is it at Judai for withdrawing from his friends or at himself?

"Fucking idiot…"

* * *

Over by the jagged cliffs of the island, the academy's students were still searching for the siren. Judai could not be more upset by the turn of events.

"Crap! There are people here too." He said under his breath. Judai, armed with a fishing pole and his pack, was hiding behind the bushes of the forest.

After the events with the Dark World, he found himself in his dorm room either sleeping or contemplating on what happened. The encounters with Mr. T, however, had put Judai on edge. He couldn't afford to be indoors sleeping all the time. Fishing allowed him to be awake and outdoors.

And, occasionally, he sings while fishing.

By chance, another student heard him sing. Judai only found out when he went to restock on bait the day after. The blue student told his friends about the beautiful voice he heard, the touching lyrics, and that he became smitten with it. Flustered, Judai joked that it must have been a monster of some sort and that it would be a bad idea to go looking for it.

That only made things worse for Judai. Once the entire school learned about the enthralling voice, students started going on searches—or hunts, depending on the person—throughout the day. Despite the turn of events, Judai still continued to fish and sing because it still calmed his nerves better than dueling has, but now, he had to be on the lookout for other students.

He didn't want attention from the entire student body again, especially not his friends. Even if it didn't have to do with dueling or with the powers of darkness, attention is the last thing he needs.

"You know, I used to be so much better at this," Judai grumbled.

 _"Well, I suppose that a few months away from others may dull your deception skills"_ Yubel said.

"I guess…"

 _"I believe today is a lost cause. You should probably go back to your room."_

"Yeah," Judai gathered his things, and dragged himself to the Red Dorm.

* * *

When Judai got back to the dorm the sun had already set. Welcomed back by Pharaoh and Professor Daitokuji, Judai slumped into his desk chair.

"I see that fishing didn't work out today-nya."

"Yeah, I'm going to check on my deck," Judai said as he began to fuss around with his pack. He pulled out his red academy-issued duel disk, put it to the side, and grabbed his deck from his back duel box. "The students would probably stop by the time I'm done. I'll try again later tonight,"

He spread out his cards on the desk and arranged in a systematic way. In a five by eight layout, from left to right, it was monster cards, trap cards, and spell cards. On the side there was a pile of extra cards.

"Going outdoors is good, but it isn't healthy to stay out too late, Judai-kun," Professor Daitokuji said.

"I've gotten used to it. Besides if it weren't for this mess I've started, then I could just fish whenever I want," Judai said as he held out his Featherman card. "I'm not sure how to fix this problem; dueling can't solve it."

"You could always look for a new hobby while waiting for this one to settle down-nya."

"Around here, rumors only die when someone deals with the source." Judai said as he put his card back down, and grabbed another.

"Like with Camula?"

"Yeah," Judai put the card Shining Flare Wingman to the side. The monster didn't fit with the deck he was forming now. He picked up Aqua Dolphin, and gave it a long stare.

"Then, maybe, you should sleep tonight-nya. You can't form a plan while sleep-deprived."

"Actually—" Glancing at his duel disk, Judai said, "I think I can."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Just a heads up, there are going to be a few OCs in this fic. They have technically been introduced already, and they are going to play a major role in this story.

I'm sorry if original characters are not your cup of tea, but they're here anyway.

* * *

The entrance of Duel Academia was clearing out as many of the more studious students have gone to class. Asuka, Fubuki, Shou, Manjoume, and Rei were waiting by the stone figures that stood by the walkway.

Kenzan was dashing towards the group, "I'm seriously sorry I'm late-don!"

"It's fine. You're the furthest one from the school building." Asuka said.

Crossing her arms, Rei said, "While we were waiting for you, we decided on who goes where. Try not slow me down, slow-poke."

"Wait, what's going on?" Kenzan asked.

"We've formed pairs on who gets to go with who. Kenzan-kun, you're going with Rei-san to the lake; Fubuki-san is going with Manjoume-kun to the shoreline; and Asuka-san and I are going towards the pier." Shou said.

"Well, that sounds good and all, but why does Fubuki-senpai have a ukulele with him-saurus?"

"When does he not?" Asuka sighed.

"Hey, this instrument is instrumental to what we are doing today! Right, Manjoume?"

"I guess…"

"And! If there is even a slight chance I end up having a singing contest with the siren, I wanna be ready!" Fubuki said, giving the ukulele a light strum. Asuka let out another sigh.

"Ignoring my brother's antics, are you all prepared?"

"Yeah! I've got my duel disk and everything-don!"

"Um, Kenzan-kun, she means do you have earplugs."

"No. Why-saurus?"

"You don't know?! Sirens have a singing voice that can lead harden sailors to their deaths!" Rei said.

She dug around in her pockets and handed earplugs to him, "You can use mine. I don't think ladies are dumb enough to be enchanted by some silly song."

Kenzan didn't respond to the backhanded gesture. He gave his thanks for the earplugs—begrudgingly.

The group was about to set off into different directions until Manjoume spoke up.

"Huh? Is that—?"

* * *

 _"I should have slept on it first…"_ Judai thought as he hid behind a tree.

His friends were right outside the school. He knew that they would try to deal with the source of the rumor. They always tried. However, this is something Judai needed to deal with by himself.

 _"If there was a diversion, I could get past them."_

Judai couldn't wait for them to leave. If they wanted to find the "siren" by covering the entire island, then they have to split up in different directions. One of them would notice him, and he still couldn't bear to see them after the Dark World—after avoiding them for so long.

Winged Kuriboh flew out of Judai's deck. "Kuri, kuri!" Winged Kuriboh said.

"Huh? Partner, what are you—?"

Winged Kuriboh flew towards the group and caught Manjoume's attention. Manjoume ran after Winged Kuriboh and everybody else turned their direction towards him—away from Judai and the school's entrance.

 _"Thanks partner!"_ Judai thought as he ran past the group.

Judai just need to get something from the school's shop. He hoped that he would get there in time.

* * *

After Manjoume's sudden dash, Fubuki told everyone else that he would take care of him and ran off after him. The rest of the group left for their respected directions.

"You know, you don't have to wear those until we get closer to the lake!" Rei yelled.

"Well, there are some things other things that I don't want to hear-don!" Kenzan yelled back.

"Oh, how rude—wait, did you hear that?!"

"No, I'm still wearing these!"

He could, however, feel the ground shake, and he saw the bushes move. Kenzan and Rei slowly stepped away from the bushes. They feared that they may have awoken a large, wild animal that was native to the island.

The bushes shook again.

They both held their breath.

Suddenly, something blue jumped out.

"Kaito?!" Rei recognized him.

It was another student. He was as tall as Rei, and he had short, black hair with leaves and twigs sticking out of it. The blue student Kaito had droopy eyes and a slightly embarrassed face.

"Ah, Rei-senpai! I'm sorry for scaring you. I thought I heard a male voice around here..."

"I suppose you heard me-don." Kenzan with his earplugs removed stepped forward.

"So it was you!" Kaito's calm demeanor drastically changed. "You're the one who wanted to take away my sea maiden!"

"Wha—?"

"Don't make any excuses! No man walking around the island during class hours isn't looking for her. And it appears that you even brought your duel disk! Well, I wouldn't be a man if I didn't fight back!" Kaito brought out his own duel disk, and lowered himself into a dueling position.

"Wait, why aren't you challenging me? You don't think that a lady can fall for a maiden?"

"They could," Kaito said, regaining his former form. "but I know you're head-over-heals for that Red upperclassman. This man, however, looks like he has fallen for her! So I challenge you, sir, to a duel!"

"I'm not too sure-saurus..."

Rei whispered in Kenzan's ear, "Humor him. I've never seen him fired up like this. And at this point, I don't think he'll go down without a fight"

"But we've gotta—"

"Don't worry! Kaito is only in the Blue dorm because of his grades. He even uses a fish deck! He'll have no chance against a dinosaur deck."

"Fine… I accept your challenge-don!"

"DUEL!" They said.


	3. Chapter 3

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"I'm just gonna buy something really quick!"

In order for Judai's plan to work, he needed a card. Unfortunately, getting that card proved to be much more difficult than expected. The lady at the counter was cleaning up, but Judai barged in at closing time. She was not in a good mood.

"No. You can wait until we open up again—after school."

"Oh, you can ring up at least one more student." A familiar voice came from the back room. "Judai-chan! It's been so long since I've seen you! How have you been?"

"It's nice to see you too, Tome-san. I'm going to buy some cards. Do you have any fish cards or any packs with fish monsters?"

 _"Judai—"_ Yubel spoke up.

"Oh, yes we do, dear! They're right over here." Tome walked over to the other side of the counter and handed Judai three card packs. "You're pretty lucky. The young man who usually buys all of these stopped buying them recently."

 _"—Judai, sirens are not—"_

"Speaking of fish, have you been eating well? I know that no one else is at the Red Dorms. I hope you remember to stay healthy."

"I'm fine, Tome-san. I don't look sick do I?" Judai said as he paid for the packs.

 _"—Oh look, you've paid for them now. Ok."_

"You certainly don't, but boys your age tend to let themselves go. I want you to take care of yourself. Now, you should hurry off to class. We're going to close the shop."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you Tome-san! And I will!"

Judai walked out of the school's shop and went towards the Red Dorms as he began to open the card packs he bought.

Yubel thought to themself that they couldn't talk Judai out of buying the card packs since he already bought them and that he can't get a refund—especially after he told them that he was going to class and opened the packs. They needed to find the right moment to tell him that his chances would be a lot higher if he had bought a winged beast pack. Sirens are bird monsters after all.

When he stopped looking at the cards, he noticed Yubel behind him.

"Is something wrong, Yubel?" Judai asked.

 _"Do you have any extra money on you?"_

"Nope. I used the very last of this month's allowance on these three packs. Why?"

 _"It's nothing…"_ Yubel they said as they internally cursed.

 _"I hope that you get a siren-like card."_

"I hope so too."

* * *

Kenzan's and Kaito's duel disks came to life with 4000 points each.

"Draw!" Kaito announced. "I activate the field magic card A Legendary Ocean!"

Water began to pool around their legs, as an underwater paradise formed around them. With a grand palace behind him, Kaito continued, "This card reduces the level of all water monsters in both our hands by one. As a result, I can summon this, now level four card, without a tribute."

Kaito normal summoned Terrorking Salmon in attack position and placed one card down, ending his turn.

 _"That guy really does use a fish deck-don! I'm not sure what he's gonna throw at me, but I won't lose!"_ Kenzan thought.

"Draw-don!"

Kenzan looked at his hand and its new addition. He didn't have any cards that could beat the Terrorking's attack points, but he did have a plan.

"I activate the card Earthquake-don! This card will change all the face up cards into defense position!"

Even with an additional 200 points from the field magic's other effect, Terrorking Salmon only had 1200 defense points. Kenzan normal summoned Archeonys and activated New Ultra Evolution from his hand. With that, Kenzan tributed Archeonys to special summon Dark Driceratops.

"I attack your Terrorking Salmon with Dark Driceratops! I also activate Dark Driceratops's effect so you'll be taking piercing damage-don! Take this—!"

"I activate the continuous magic card, Tornado Wall. While I have Umi face-up on the field, I won't be taking any damage."

Kenzan became confused and said, "But you don't-saurus. You've got A Legendary Ocean."

Kaito grinned as he raised his arms in grandeur. "This underwater palace is under the ocean. If I am not mistaken, the English word 'ocean' is the equivalent to our _'umi'_. This card can be treated just as the card Umi can. I shall not be taking any damage until the field card is removed from the field."

Kenzan did not counter Kaito's statement and placed one card face down to end his turn.

"Draw!"

Kaito looked over his cards. "I summon a monster card face down and end my turn."

* * *

Rei thought, _"Does he not have a monster that can beat Dark Driceratops? Or is he trying to get a flip effect? Wait, there aren't any fish monsters with a flip effect released yet. He hasn't changed his deck's archetype has he?"_

Rei stayed silent by the side lines as she observed the duel. She couldn't say what she was thinking out loud because it would cause Kenzan to lose on terms of cheating. Even if it wasn't an official duel, Rei knew that neither of them would appreciate having their deck known to the other side.

Rei recalled her telling Kenzan about Kaito's fish deck. She mentally scolded herself. Trying to avoid spiraling into self-doubt, Rei tried to convince herself that they didn't break any codes of conduct.

 _"But don't pro duelists do it all the time? They research the opponent before they duel. But Kaito didn't have the same opportunity. No. Kaito must have seen a few of Kenzan's duels before. But—"_

It didn't quell her conscience.

* * *

Kenzan drew his card. _"I've gotta find a way to get rid of his cards' effects-don. If I don't I'll be in big trouble sooner or later."_

Kenzan did not have any cards that could clear the entire field at the moment, but he did draw something that could get rid of the field magic.

"I activate my field magic, Jurastic World-don!"

"What?!" Kaito recoiled as his two cards were sent to the graveyard. Kenzan's dinosaur paradise replaced Kaito's aquatic paradise.

"With this my dinosaurs' attack and defense points are raised by 300. I summon Babycerasaurus, and I'm attacking your face down card with Dark Driceratops-don!"

Kaito's life points fell to 1600.

Kaito's card flipped to reveal An Owl of Luck. Due to its flip effect, Kaito added a field magic card to the top of his deck, but that didn't surprise Kenzan. What surprised him was that Kaito had a winged beast in his—supposedly—fish deck. Kenzan surmised that it was just awhile since Rei had seen his deck.

The other guy's deck didn't matter to him. Kenzan believed that he and his balanced offensive and defensive deck can work around anything to victory. Like his Aniki used to say, "No one knows the outcome of a duel, and that's what makes dueling fun!"

Kenzan missed the old Judai.

"And I directly attack you with Babycerasaurus!"

Kenzan ended his turn. Kaito's life points were at 1300, but it was now his turn. He drew his field magic card.

"I normal summon Cure Mermaid in attack position. With your two dinosaurs on the field, I can activate Alector, Sovereign of Birds's monster effect. I special summon it to the field!"

Cure Mermaid had an attack of 1500 points, and Alector, Sovereign of Birds had 2400 attack points. Neither cards surpassed Kenzan's Dark Driceratops at the moment.

"In addition, I activate the field magic, Mountain! This card would boost the attack and defense points of any winged beasts on the field by 200!"

Kaito attacked Kenzan's Dark Driceratops and Babycerasaurus with Alector, Sovereign of Birds and Cure Mermaid, respectfully. Kaito placed one card face down and ended his turn.

Kenzan's life points were 2800, and he had no monster cards on his field or any cards in his hand. But Kaito had less life points than him, and he also had no cards in his hand. Kenzan isn't going to let this get him down. He remembered Judai's words.

"Draw!"

* * *

No ships have arrived that day, as there were no tournaments going on. There were no audible or visible signs of a siren either.

The pier was absolutely silent. Shou and Asuka assumed it was safe to unplug their earplugs. They began to talk.

"Even though he said he would take care of Manjoume-kun, do you really think that it was fine to leave him to Fubuki-san?" Shou asked.

"Despite how my brother acts, he is good at giving advice." Asuka paused as she put a hand over her Cyber Girl deck.

"I think it will be fine, even if it's the two of them," Asuka said in a soft, nostalgic tone.

"But don't you remember that time he gave Manjoume-kun love tips?"

"Yes."

Fubuki gave the idea to duel for Asuka's love into Manjoume's head during their first year. He stole all the keys to the Sacred Beasts and challenged Asuka into an ante-rule duel, wagering the keys to a date with her. Manjoume lost. Chaos ensued. Judai saved the day.

"We should get back," Asuka said.

"You're right. I don't think we could find her here..."

"You sound a little disappointed."

"Well, they did say that she is beautiful."

"They? Are you saying that people have seen her?"

"I'm not sure if it was true, but a first-year boy in the Blue Dorm said that they saw someone in red not too long ago."

"Red? There's only one thing on this island that's red."

"Aniki."

The two of them ran towards the Red Dorm.

* * *

A/N: Japanese dueling terminology and English card names? Oh my!

I'm sorry for the delay, but I spent most of my time trying to decide how I would write the duel. Hopefully, I haven't broken any rules. I written the duel based on the rules and cards around the time of GX's 4th season—with a few exceptions...


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Last chapter, I realized that Manjoume's name is more commonly spelt in romanji with a "u", not like the way I previously written it. I've gone back and edited all the chapters, not only for Manjoume but also for small errors. :P

I also want to say thank you for all the reviews and follows. They're motivating me to continue writing this fic! :D

* * *

Winged Kuriboh had flown to the sandy shores of the island, far from the school's main building. In trying to help Judai, his partner tried to grab the attention of his friends for a moment. However, Manjoume chased after Winged Kuriboh. Spooked, the spirit flew for much longer than intended and was now starting to lose energy.

"Kuri Kuri..." Winged Kuriboh huffed.

"I've got ya!" Manjoume jumped into the air to grab the duel spirit, but Winged Kuriboh disappeared in a small cloud. "Dammit..." Manjoume said.

"Hey~! Manjoume-kun! Hold on!" Fubuki yelled from a distance.

Manjoume internally cursed. While he was chasing after Judai's duel spirit, Manjoume forgot about the group.

"Manjoume-kun, what happened?"

"I saw his furball." Manjoume curtly replied.

"I see. Well, it's a good thing that his friend led us to where we were supposed to be."

They had stopped talking, and listened to their surroundings. There were the squawks of birds flying ahead and leaves on palm trees rustling in the wind, but no singing. Manjoume and Fubuki looked around them. The sun shone high in the sky, the sand held no unusual prints, and the waves moved up and down the shoreline.

"No sign of a siren. What a shame." Fubuki said. They sat down on the beach. It was a low tide and the two Blue students didn't have to worry about getting wet.

"How come?"

"I _really_ wanted to see who here on the island can sing better than me. I can't be the number one singing duelist if I am not the best singer."

"That's fine, but why did it seem like you're only halfheartedly playing your ukulele? If you want to be the best, shouldn't you give it your all, Master?"

"Well, there was nobody willing to challenge me there, and—" Fubuki trailed off.

"Were you trying to draw attention away from me?" Manjoume asked.

Fubuki didn't answer, and the two remained silent for some time. As they sat there, the waves begun to rise higher, but they didn't move from their spot.

"You still seemed pretty gloomy, and knowing the others, they would try to ask how you're feeling. You aren't the kind of person who's open all the time."

Manjoume didn't reply.

"I thought that would have helped. Sorry."

"No. It did. I just..." Manjoume sighed. "I'm not sure how to deal with everything. Everyone's growing older, and I see that some of us are growing apart. He already has."

Fubuki let out a gentle hum and nodded in understanding.

"I feel shitty for not being able to help him out in that other world. Fuck, I feel inadequate for not helping out with all the things that happened at the school. I _am_ partly responsible for most of the fuck ups."

Manjoume sighed again.

"I want to be a mature and responsible student at this school before I graduate."

Fubuki replied, "I get it. I did mess up too, but it looks like to me that you've matured over the years."

"Huh?"

"It's true. My sister even said that you used to be a stuck up loner, but now you've got stadiums chanting your name _and_ you're working to help the school. You're not afraid of being in the limelight or taking on responsibility. To me, that's maturity."

The two stayed in silence as the tides rose even higher. By the time it reached their feet, Manjoume stood up.

"Thanks, Master."

"Oh? Manjoume is showing appreciation? I should have brought a video recorder~!"

Manjoume knelt down and grabbed a handful of moist sand, tossing it at Fubuki. The two students began to laugh and fool around on the beach, enjoying the youth they still had.

"You wanna hear more life lessons? I've still got love advice!"

"No. I think we should go look for that siren now. Other students are ditching too and it isn't good for their studies."

"Ah, now, you're sounding like an old man." Fubuki ran into the ocean until the water reached just above his knees and yelled, "Siren-chan! Where are you? I still wanna have a singing contest with you!"

"Still?"

Fubuki turned back to Manjoume on land. "Well, yeah. The beach is a perfect spot for a singing contest anyway~! Why do you think I asked to come _here_ when we were talking with the group?"

Manjoume replied with a shrug, and Fubuki walked back onto dry land. "Still, it's weird how it all turned out."

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted to talk about all this heavy stuff while we were in the forest, but we got on the beach before I caught up with you."

"That's because I was chasing Judai's duel spirit."

"Yeah. Well, it all turned out fine in the end!"

"But how did Winged Kuriboh know where we were supposed to go? It couldn't be a coincidence…" Manjoume trailed off and then he had an epiphany. "It can't be?"

"What can't be?"

"Judai was there." Manjoume began to run towards the Red Dorms. He slowed his pace and turned to yell, "Master, are you coming?!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going with you." Fubuki said with a smile.

The two ran together.

* * *

Judai got to the Red dorms without being spotted, and so Yubel left the room to see where the closest student was. Curtains blocked the light in Judai's room, and Pharaoh was napping on the room's ceiling frame.

"Yeah! I've got it!" Judai exclaimed while holding a card in his hand.

"Kuri, kuri!" Winged Kuriboh floated down next to Judai.

"Thanks for earlier, partner. If it wasn't for you I think I wouldn't have gotten this card." Judai said.

The duel spirit puffed with pride, and Judai got up and picked up his shoes for the next part of his plan. Yubel floated into the room.

 _"We've got a problem. Your friends are coming over here."_

"Crap! How far are they?"

 _"They are-"_

Three small knocks came from the door.

"Aniki, are you in there?"

 _"Shou?!"_ Judai thought.

"I don't think he would answer. Here let me try."

 _"Asuka?!"_ Judai thought.

"Judai. I am going to give you on the count of three to open this door."

Judai opened the curtains.

"One!"

Pharaoh woke up.

"Two!"

Judai's leg was out the window.

"Three!"

Asuka kicked down the door.

"Pardon the intrusion."

The two didn't see Judai in the room. Pharaoh jumped down and stretched in front of them.

"Pharaoh! I'm sorry, did we interrupt your nap?" Shou said as he petted the cat. Pharaoh meowed in response. "Asuka-san, I don't think he's here..."

"I'm pretty sure he was." Asuka walked over to the open windows. She saw a clean mark across the dust by the window, and she ran towards the door. "He's over there!" Asuka yelled, pointing towards the red blur going towards the forest.

"Oh, more running. Great." Shou said as he put Pharaoh aside. He closed the door and ran with Asuka.

* * *

Judai needed to think fast. He thought that the two would eventually get him, whether it would be in the forest or at the dorm when he goes back. Judai needed something to distract them. He kept running until he saw two students dueling.

 _"Perfect!"_ Judai thought.

He ran around the field, hiding in the bushes. Judai kneeled behind a bush across where he previously was, keeping an eye on where Shou and Asuka could pop out from. He realized that he was hiding right behind Rei, but it was fine. She didn't know he was there and she was occupied with the duel.

Judai was shocked when he saw who was dueling. He saw Kenzan and the blue student that he told that the mystery singer was the rumored siren; albeit he was more disheveled than when he last saw him.

 _"Why are they dueling?"_ Judai wondered.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I messed up in the chapter 3. Kenzan _did_ have cards on the field. That's all edited now, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Tree branches were knocked aside and the grass was crushed underfoot. Asuka and Shou ran, trying to catch up with Judai, but he was much faster than the two of them who has been running far longer than he had for the day.

The two lost him. Shou suggested that they look for the others and tell them what they had found. They walked towards the lake since it was the closest to where they were, but they encountered something they didn't expect.

"What's going on here?" Asuka asked.

"A duel?" Shou replied.

Rei walked around the field and said, "Yeah, but what are you two doing in the forest? Aren't you guys supposed to be on the other side of the island?"

"We wanted to talk to everybody. We think Judai is involved." Asuka said.

"What?! He fell for that siren?!"

"We don't think so, but we were chasing him around here earlier." Shou said.

Asuka asked why Kenzan was dueling, and Rei explained what had occurred while they were traveling to the lake; she also expressed how she felt. Rei was concerned. She worried about the way she acted before the duel and the fact that Kenzan isn't doing as well as she believed he would.

"You shouldn't worry. What you said was minor compared to what other duelist have done before," Asuka said.

"And Kenzan-kun has strong offense and defense; he won't lose." Shou said.

"I'm not worried about whether or not he loses. I'm worried about how long we've been here! I think Kenzan forgot that we had to look for the siren, and I'm a little scared to go off on my own and miss the ending of the duel." Rei began to mumble, "I did encourage it after all."

"How about Asuka-san and I go look while you watch the duel." Shou suggested.

"No! I can't let the upperclassmen do all the work. It would shame the underclassmen of the group." Rei protested.

"How about we watch the ending of the duel, and then we all can look around the lake together." Asuka said.

Rei agreed reluctantly. She truly did not want to push her responsibilities to her upperclassmen, but she couldn't win against them. They had gone through more than she and were more persuasive. Rei felt useless.

* * *

Judai noticed Asuka and Shou arriving at the field, but Judai didn't leave his spot like he originally planned. The duel distracted him as well.

 _"Judai, we should be going."_ Yubei said.

Judai realized that no matter who was going to win they are going to see him when the duel ends. It was fine. He wasn't really interested in dueling anymore. He plans on running when a monster gets destroyed. He thinks that the shattering effect would be an effective cover.

Kenzan may not have any monsters on the field, but Judai knew he could turn it around.

* * *

His opponent's next turn is the last turn that Big Evolution Pill would be in effect. Kenzan needed to make it count.

"Draw! Alright! I normal summon Ultimate Tyranno-don! Go Ultimate Tyranno!"

Ultimate Tyranno stomped over to the 1500 attack point Cure Mermaid. The monster shattered and Kenzan waited for buzz to signal the duel's end—

"I activate my set card: Soul of the Pure! Thanks to this card I recover 800 life points!"

—but Kaito held on with 600 life points. Undeterred, Kenzan continued his assault with Ultimate Tyranno's monster effect. Alector, Sovereign of Birds shattered, and Kaito's life was down to 200. Kenzan ended his turn.

"You've gotten a good draw, but I won't back down!"

Kaito was about to draw, but he heard rustling in the bushes.

"There you are Kaito! We've been looking all over the island for you!" A student in full blue panted. Two Blue students awkwardly maneuvered though the bushes. One was wearing the blue coat uniform while the other was wearing the white jacket uniform.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Kaito, you need to go back to class. Your test scores are slipping. You'll drop to Ra Yellow at this rate!" The student in the white jacket said.

"He's right! Stop looking for the mystery singer. This crush of yours has completely changed you." The other student said.

"I refuse." Kaito drew his card and continued, "My search for my maiden is the only thing that is keeping me going. I won't stop until I have her!"

"That sort of thinking is a huge turn off!"

Everyone in the group turned to Rei.

She continued, "I can see where your friends are coming from. You have changed, and it's not for love. It's an obsession! Right now, you are so insecure that you have to show off to someone who isn't even here. You are hiding your true feelings behind your so-called 'love'!"

"I—" Along with everyone else, Katio was taken aback, but he then replied "—like you even have the right to talk about obsessions and love! What about that red student?"

"I don't have to go on island-wide searches to prove that I love him. My whole life does not revolve around him; I am not like you!"

"But are you not thankful for his saving your life? In that other world, did he not go out and try to help get you medical supplies? Would you not be here today if it wasn't for him?"

"I—" It was true. In that other world, she got sick, and Judai was one of the people that got her medicine. Rei had nothing to counter his accusations.

"—Do you even consider yourself a man for bullying someone else? Why don't you stop and get back to our duel-saurus?" Kenzan spoke up.

Kaito turned back to the field and said nothing as he set a card face down to end his turn.

Big Evolution Pill's effect ended and was sent to Kenzan's graveyard. He drew a card, but it wasn't a card that could negate his opponent's face down card.

"Ultimate Tyranno is gonna give you a direct attack-don!"

"I activate Windstorm of Etaqua. This card changes the battle positions of your cards. You won't be able to attack me for this battle phase!"

* * *

Judai hoped that no one had noticed him; he wanted to test out his plan before putting it in motion. Judai climbed down the nearby cliffs and activated his duel disk.

Red hair fluttering in the wind, a beautiful mermaid materialized with a soft hum. The duel monster sat, much like the artwork from the card, on the cliffs before turning to Judai.

"How the hell did I get summoned outside of a duel?"

Judai wasn't expecting that. Then again, he shouldn't base a spirit's personality on the card.

"I summoned you to help me with a problem." He said.

"That is usually why people summon monsters. Go on." The mermaid said sarcastically.

Judai explained how his powers worked as well as his situation to the duel monster. He requested her to sing to another student in order for the rumors to die down.

"So, you wanna play matchmaking with me and some brat? Well, too bad, I can't sing."

"I thought all you guys can sing."

"I'm a mermaid! Our kind doesn't sing! We drag voyagers to their watery graves by messing with them or their boats. Ugh, I hate being confused for a siren."

 _"Judai, why don't we teach her to sing?"_ Yubel suggested.

"Oh, hell no! I got enough mermaid pride to not need some silly songs to kill men."

Yubel and Judai groaned in frustration. Then, Winged Kuriboh flew around with a suggestion.

"How do you feel about lip-syncing?" Judai translated.

"I don't oppose it. You do all the singing and talking, and I just have to sit around and move my mouth, right?"

"Right."

"And then I can kill the kid."

"What? No! I'm gonna tell him that the two of you can never be together, and I take you off my duel disk."

"Ok, kill him emotionally. Got it."

Judai sighed, "Please, don't use the word 'kill'. Let's just practice for a bit, yeah?"

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update. School is ending soon, and I'm getting ready for graduation and finals. I've also been procrastinating on my studies by watching ZEXAL. :P I haven't seen any of the series past 5D's, so I've got a lot of catching up to do!


	6. Chapter 6

Kaito set monster after monster in defense position, and Kenzan had yet to draw a card that would put an end to it all. Ultimate Tyranno tore down each and every one of the fish monsters.

"That's strange..." Shou said.

"What is?" Asuka asked.

"He's dueling as if he is desperately holding onto his life, not his life points, but his life isn't in danger against Kenzan-kun."

"So why?"

"I think we should ask those two." Rei gestured towards the other two blue students. The two boys stood next to them to watch the duel as well. After the group's questioning, they learned that the two did not realize that Kaito was dueling in such a way.

"Actually, that's how he duels, at least before this crush of his."

"What do you mean by that? The last time we dueled it was nothing like that." Rei said.

"Well, I guess that was before Kaito's parents intervened." The student in white said. Rei gave him a quizzical look.

"He didn't share everything with us, but I know something happened with his parents. After that, his dueling skills slipped, and he was acting really gloomy."

The student in blue continued, "Then one day, he told us of the singer that lifted his spirits, and the rest is what you guys probably saw before we got here."

Before the information fully set on the group, a dust cloud engulfed the field.

"W— who won?" Rei asked.

Kenzan was standing while Kaito was on the ground, clutching a single card close to his chest.

Kaito gave out a small chuckle as he got up. "Rei-senpai... You are correct. I am insecure, but I won't have you saying that I'm a coward."

He revealed his card. Its image was of a bird with open, flaming red wings. "I know my deck. There aren't any more fish monsters in it."

Kaito said as he put his card away. "I don't duel hiding behind winged beasts; I duel as they support me. I accept this defeat, and you—Kenzan-kun was it?—has obtained victory for her. My heart still burns, but I will wish the best for you two. Let's go back, guys."

Kenzan had a puzzled face before remembering why he challenged him in the first place. He bluttered, "W— wait-don! I never said that I'm—."

"They've already left, Kenzan-kun." Shou chuckled.

"So it seems like we have to search for Kenzan-kun's future wife now, huh?" Asuka joked, as she began to walk towards the lake. Shou soon followed after. The only ones that were left were the flustered Kenzan and troubled Rei.

'Just what happened to him?' Pushing her thoughts to the side, Rei grabbed Kenzan to join the others.

* * *

The four of them walked to the school's lake. The three with earplugs put them in their ears. Rei was designated to be the one to signal to the group if it is safe for them to remove them.

When they got to the lake, it appeared to be calm—no creatures were on, below, or above the surface. Rei signaled to them, and they removed their earplugs.

Recalling the red blur that she saw before the huge argument, Rei said, "Hey, I think we should go the Red dorm."

"Why-saurus?" Kenzan asked.

"I think that he would have gone back by now."

Kenzan, still uninformed of the other's day, looked to the others for answers. Shou spoke up, "If Aniki didn't want us to see us, he wouldn't want us to go there."

"But what if he's involved? What if he is in trouble?!" Rei argued.

The three shared a look. Asuka spoke up for the boys, "Alright, we'll do it."

Rei's face brightened and she said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Wait, we were supposed to meet the others by now." Asuka said, and before the others spoke up, she continued. "Don't worry; I'm just going to call to inform them where we are going." She dialed her brother's number, but he didn't answer. After a third try, she decided that Fubuki must have forgotten to charge his phone last night, again. She left a voice mail and tried to call Manjoume. However, she became worried when Manjoume—the slightly more responsible one—didn't answer her number.

Asuka informed the group of her worries.

"I think it'll be fine. I bet the two of them are making sandcastles at the beach. And Manjoume-kun also has his duel spirits with him. The three Ojamas can keep them out of trouble." Shou said.

His time with in the other world was difficult, but having Ojama Yellow with him made the ordeal easier. As a result, Shou understood the trust between humans and spirits more intimately. He was a little jealous that his Roid cards didn't talk to him in the same way, but no matter what, the cards will come through. That holds true to himself, his Aniki, and Manjoume as well.

 _'Actually, I think it's been awhile since I've last heard Manjoume talking to them…'_ Shou thought to himself before remembering who else Manjoume was with.

"Wait a minute; didn't Hane Kuribou catch Manjoume-kun's attention?"

* * *

The group decided to check out the beach and the school entrance to no avail. The only place left that they had a clue on Manjoume and Fubuki's possible whereabouts was the Red dorm.

"What are my brother and Manjoume doing there?" Asuka said before she gasped, and ran towards them for fear of what may have befallen them.

They haven't noticed the others approaching them. The two boys were lying along the cliff, looking below them. Asuka shook them both out of their daze.

"What's wrong you two?"

"He can sing..." Manjoume mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Judai can sing better than me!" Fubuki exclaimed. Tears started streaming out of him as he covered his eyes with his arms. "I'm moved, but heartbroken! To think that Judai could even—!"

Fubuki tried to explain further, but the words that followed were incomprehensible. Turning aside with a sigh, Asuka asked Manjoume for an explanation.

"At first, we thought that Judai was trying to solve the mystery, and I wanted answers, but..."

"But?"

"The source of the 'siren' was Judai himself."

Manjoume simply covered his ears until the group stopped gasping and screaming and let the information settle in; it sure hasn't settled in his nor his master's brain. Rei was shouting something, and his master was still crying. Shou tried to calm them down. Asuka was lost in thought, and Kenzan's mouth was agape.

When he was sure that they all could have a sensible conversation, Manjoume uncovered his ears—

"Wait, so I just won approval for Aniki's hand-sarus?!"

—too soon. He was about to re-cover them, but then realized that he and his master needed context for that nonsense. The group informed them of Kaito, his involvement in the rumor, and the duel that eventually had taken place before explaining how they came to their own conclusions about Judai.

"So, where is Aniki? You guys were the last to see him, right?" Shou asked.

"Yeah, he's just down th—" Manjoume paused. They all were pretty loud not too long ago. "He's not there!"

"We've gotta go find him-don!"

"Wait! Let's think this carefully. It's dark now, and we have no clues on where he could have gone. I think we should go back to our dorms and sleep for tonight. Besides, Judai would most likely be spooked and run again if we went after him." Manjoume suggested.

The group was in agreement. So much has happened that day, and they spent most of the day running around. Everyone was tired. Kenzan left for the Yellow dorm as the others returned to the Blue dorm.

* * *

AN: How much did Fubuki and Manjoume see? Enough. :P


End file.
